There
is no suicide for which all society is not responsible. -
Cyril Connolly

Elita
Karim

Sometimes,
life just gets to be too much of a hassle. With an everyday
growing need to be the best in whatever one does, eventually,
one simply loses the initial enthusiasm and the innocence
involved behind doing something one really loves. In a society
where the battle between the weak and the strong are defined
and judged in terms of finance, gender, religion and social
class, there is always a clash with an emerging group whose
actions and thoughts reflect peace and equality in the form
of creativity and art. Young people in particular conjure
up a world of their own and desperately try to draw a relation
between reality and their dreams. Practically speaking, in
spite of all the long after-dinner discussions about how we
should all work towards a better society, somehow we are the
ones who actually shirk away from it.

In
the last four years, other than the incidents that I read
about in the papers, four people I knew took their lives.
What strikes me, is that all four of them were artistic in
nature and actually defined the phrase "creativity within
one's own soul". Something else that hit me was that
all of them were bright and young women between the ages of
18 and 24. All of them were students in leading private educational
institutions and had a circle of friends of their own. They
unconsciously were out to make a difference around them with
the extraordinary abilities that they had.

Monica
was a second year student at a leading private university
and was part of a writing club. Just starting off her life
at the age of 21, she would use her sensitivity about the
happenings around her and write them down. She wrote poetry
and fiction about the social condition, dirty politics within
friends and relationships between parents and children, lovers,
even between nature and living beings. One fine day, she kills
herself merely because her work and proficiency would not
get recognised by her family, friends and society. One might
relate this incident to the famous poet Sylvia Plath who took
her own life, and point out the romantic essence that goes
with all kinds of deeds performed by writers and poets. However,
in a society like ours, there might be many more reasons than
actually meet the eye.

These
youngsters somehow become frustrated at the fact that their
abilities do not get recognised or given due respect by their
family members merely because they happen to be girls. Other
suicide cases involve upcoming public speakers, talented musicians
and outstanding photographers. Each of them opted to give
up on life, instead of facing the everyday challenges, which
turned out to be harder and harder to keep up with in life.

Experts
say that the idea of misinterpreting reality is called Psychosis,
which actually results in suicide attempts because the incorrect
perceptions can cause severe suffering and a false belief
that no hope exists. People usually need to believe that there
is a purpose to their lives. It is a spiritual issue rather
than a medical or psychiatric one. Stress at home, work, and
in the entertainment and information media are causing more
reports of people "cracking," or mentally "breaking
down," than ever before. Somehow, the mind of a creator
dwells on a level which normal people cannot seem to get or
comprehend.

In
our society, women are still restricted to areas where their
ideas, thoughts and creations are not acknowledged by others.
Even at home, these young girls do not get the support that
they require to trend on their chosen paths. Most parents
still think that girls should not have an outlet to expose
their inner talents or creativity, so that they don't miss
out on a well-to-do marriage proposal. Since marriage seems
to be the solution to every single problem, sometimes, many
young women are also forced into it, through emotional blackmailing,
a threat to stop their education or being locked at home.

Obviously
we as a society have a greater responsibility to promote and
encourage the creativity of young people and also recognise
the warning signs of when they cannot cope with in reality.
Unless we are more vigilant and compassionate towards our
young, we will continue to lose such bright, beautiful individuals.